Two Bradys, two rhetorical approaches
Wednesday, Jun 19, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One Illinois…
Bill Brady, the Senate minority leader in the General Assembly, lauded a bipartisan approach seeking compromise between Democrats and Republicans, but only up to a point Tuesday, declaring that a progressive income tax “must be defeated” at the ballot box in November 2020.
Brady made the remarks at the City Club of Chicago Tuesday. Saying, “It’s nice of you to invite Republicans every once in a while,” he defended the bipartisan approach he took toward compromise along with House Minority Leader Jim Durkin during the spring session in the General Assembly. […]
Brady said, “We came to the table — we didn’t seek to overturn it — to find common ground.”
Brady lauded compromises that produced additional funding for public education, senior care, and the Department of Children and Family Services. He said Republicans fought for the preservation of a controversial tax-credit scholarship program for private schools, calling the five-year pilot program “very important to us when we reformed education funding” two years ago.
He cheered the small-business reforms Pritzker agreed to, and he fully endorsed the $45 billion capital spending plan that passed.
“We knew that we needed to have an infrastructure program,” Brady said. “Illinois is in desperate need of a reinvestment in our infrastructure.”
In general, he added, “We think we were able to do a lot of good things by being at the table.”
He’s right.
* Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) took a different route to get to the same result…
Republicans beat back a slew of new state taxes this spring despite Democratic control of Springfield, a Twin City lawmaker said Tuesday.
“We negotiated (out of) a real estate transfer tax (to generate) $34 million. Bottled water tax, $19.9 million. … Streaming tax, $110 million. Rental car tax, $8 million. Car sharing tax, $3 million. Ride share tax, $200 million. Beer, liquor and wine tax at $120 million. Cable and satellite tax at $110 million,” said state Rep. Dan Brady, a Bloomington Republican, during the McLean County Chamber of Commerce’s “State of the State” event at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium Club. […]
“I believe the good outweighs the bad in raising the taxes we have to,” Dan Brady said. “Compromise government is far from ever perfect, but it needs to be done on behalf of the people.”
Pointing out the taxes they successfully negotiated out is a smart move. More Republican legislators who bit the tax bullet probably need to take that approach.
* It’s so easy for some to sit on the sidelines and let others do the hard work. For instance…
For Republicans in the General Assembly, though, the 2019 session was anything but a cause for celebration.
“The last four years under Gov. Rauner, we were able to stop some things because we had more seats,” said Rep. Tony McCombie, a Republican from Savanna. “And they had to have conversations with Republicans, and that’s the most important thing. I believe that that really upset them, that they lost a little bit of control, and they really are showing us and reminding us who they are, what their agenda is, and they’re really giving it to us.”
They’re giving it to them alright - to the tune of $300 million in Rep. McCombie’s case.
McCombie voted against the revenue package to fund the horizontal capital bill, even though the I-80 bridge over the Mississippi River in her district is slated for a $300 million renovation. I think that’s the second-largest bridge repair project in the state. The revamp will employ huge amounts of people from in and around her district, and keeping that bridge in decent shape is vitally important for Illinois, the nation and, obviously, her own district.
But she decided to let her colleagues take the hard votes. [Click here and scroll down to page 2 to see the project.]
- Threat level midnight - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 10:05 am:
McCombie is really trying to have it both ways. She has taken on the Jeanne Ives hard right, irrational nonsense, yet she still wants to appear normal enough to be an aggressive fundraiser. It’s offensive that she would demonize Chicago the way she does, then come here with a straight face and ask us for our money.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 10:09 am:
McCombie, a real profile in courage…not
- theq - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 10:15 am:
I anxiously await her pics at a ribbon cutting after the repairs.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 10:18 am:
– The last four years under Gov. Rauner, we were able to stop some things because we had more seats –
Stop some things.
You know, like paying bills to businesses, funding universities, funding breast cancer exams, honoring contracts, offering financial aid to would-be college kids from working class families, services to children with autism, …
Soooo many things she was able to help stop.
Heckuva job McCombie.
- anon2 - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 10:22 am:
Like the barnyard animals in the children’s book, The Little Red Hen, she wouldn’t help to make the bread, but she’s in line to help consume it.
- serious - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 10:25 am:
==Like the barnyard animals in the children’s book, The Little Red Hen, she wouldn’t help to make the bread, but she’s in line to help consume it. ==
The taxpayers made the bread in this metaphor
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 10:50 am:
Ms. McCombie is everything a Raunerite is… and worse… lacks any sense of governing, responsibility, and the honest aspects of both.
Like Mr. Demmer and Mr. Barickman, all three are the worst types of folks to think they can lead the ILGOP or GOP GA.
Those three give no hope that the GOP could be relevant… with them.
The Bradys here… that’s the mirror image.
- Rabid - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 11:07 am:
McCombie hitting the center square on the turnaround agenda
- Downstate University - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 11:13 am:
I have watched McCombie’s act for a few years now. She tries to cuddle up to WIU when it serves her well, and then she votes against the University’s needs accordingly. She’s a two-bit real estate agent hack who weaseled her way into the State House.
How can someone who swears an oath to the Illinois Constitution propose legislation to kick part of the state out of it and get away with it?
- Truthteller - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 11:14 am:
There was a time when there were Republicans like Ogilvie,who signed the first income tax into law, and Edgar, who unlike his Democratic opponent, advocated making a temporary income tax increase permanent.
The GOP could use a dose of intellectual honesty. They don’t need to be for higher taxes, but if they’re not, they do need to tell us precisely which education, health care and public safety expenditures they’d cut to produce a balanced budget.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 11:24 am:
=The Bradys here… that’s the mirror image.=
Bill’s anti-Chicago rhetoric has been toned down of late, but he is still more of the problem than the solution. When Rauner was around he drank the cool-aide pretty consistently those days. Dan has usually been a moderating voice but did vote against ISU and schools several times.
I just can’t get there on Bill Brady though, sat in too many meetings where he berated pensions and then tried to give freebies to Bloomington Central Catholic High School.
- Seats - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 11:32 am:
McCombie responded to this article on her Facebook page with.
you must have read CapFax… the I74 bridge has been in the works and approved as a Federal/IL/IA project since 2009. The state “may” move money around and take from the capital bill compared to the where already appropriated! My yes or no vote could NOT have stopped that project.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 11:40 am:
===the I74 bridge===
It’s the I-80 bridge https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oyweVWIrNmCcsR-bACV0oEQefVn7xPrb
- Threat level midnight - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 11:41 am:
McCombie has hit bottom with that response and has kept digging!
- Pundent - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 11:44 am:
What McCombie and her ilk are trying to stop is governing even when that governing is in the best interests of her district. Her goal is simply to oppose the majority party.
- Not a Billionaire - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 12:31 pm:
She was Quad City TV complaint about not getting any money. She mentioned US 30. Four landing 30 was rejected by her constituents in Morrison who did not want a bypass. IDOT said it would improve existing route add passing lanes of needed.
- Give Me A Break - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 12:32 pm:
The Rep. clearly has no desire for her voters to understand it cost to maintain infrastructure.
But don’t worry, I’m sure even as we speak she is on the look out for gay, Spanish speaking Muslims driving around her district trying to take everyone’s guns away.
- I Miss Bentohs - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 12:46 pm:
As a Republican, this is one of the dumbest things I have read in quite some time:
“The last four years under Gov. Rauner, we were able to stop some things because we had more seats,” said Rep. Tony McCombie
- DuPage Bard - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 4:00 pm:
So what exactly did the GOP stop under Bruce Rauner?
A tax increase - nope
An expansion and taxpayer funded abortions- nope
Increasing the state debt - nope
The TRUST Act - nope
All of these things, that are GOP talking points against Dems, happened under Bruce Rauner and her “more seats” comment.
Any other great words of wisdom Rep?
- Liandro - Wednesday, Jun 19, 19 @ 4:51 pm:
“…she is on the look out for gay, Spanish speaking Muslims driving around her district trying to take everyone’s guns away.”
The sad thing is you think she’s the small-minded one, even while you just cram her into a crazy box you invented in your head. Carry on.